1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus which makes it easier to learn to type, improves on the accuracy of typing, increases typing speed and reduces wear on the user. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system for the rapid entry of text into a microprocessor-controlled word processing system making use of a keyboard having multiple alphabet letter characters assigned to some or all of the keys.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional typewriters make use of twenty-six (26) letter keys, one for each letter of the English alphabet. One of the initial keyboard layouts is the "QWERTY" keyboard, which today remains the industry standard. Other formats have been devised, such as the Dvorak keyboard, that position keys about the keyboard in an ergonomic fashion for ease of use and accessibility. These alternative formats primarily seek to increase speed of typing and accuracy, as well as to reduce wear on the user.
Generally, all of these traditional keyboards provide an individual key for each letter of the alphabet. In addition to the letter keys, function keys are provided, such as ALT, CTRL, SPACE BAR, ENTER, and so forth. Consequently, the keyboards are congested with numerous keys and require a great deal of space. Likewise, these conventional keyboards require the user to memorize or be able to locate a particular key for each character the user would like to select.
Other keyboard layouts assign more than one character to a key, usually referred to as multiple letter key or double-touch systems. These systems, however, require the user to operate multiple keys in order to select a single desired character. Systems that require concurrent operation of multiple keys, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,891,777, are sometimes referred to as chord systems. The chord systems require the user to expend twice the effort for each letter to be selected. In addition, these chord systems require the user to be able to remember 26 key combinations, one for each letter of the alphabet.
Other multiple key systems require the user to operate specific multiple keys in a successive manner. U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,070, for instance, shows a system in which multiple characters are provided for each key. However, in order to select the particular character desired, the user must make at least two successive keystrokes. Thus, the user must remember 26 different combinations of successive keystrokes, one for each letter of the alphabet. U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,008, on the other hand, provides a keyboard in which the user must scroll through each of multiple letters that are assigned to a single key by repeatedly depressing that key.
As a result of having to enter multiple keystrokes to select a single character, these double-actuation or multiple letter key systems are slow, tiresome, and prone to typographical errors. Accordingly, these systems are primarily used where a reduced keyboard size is of utmost importance, as opposed to speed and accuracy.
Another variation of typing, called abbreviated typing, involves only having to type part of a word. U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,049, for instance, shows an abbreviated typing system in which the user only needs to enter four or less characters. The system will then search for the abbreviated word in memory. When the abbreviated word is located, the full word is entered into the document.
All of these keyboard systems are difficult to use and even more difficult to learn. Consequently, typing is slower and prone to mistakes. Moreover, these keyboards are all the more difficult to operate by persons that have not learned to use that particular type of keyboard. These "hunt and peck" typists must search for the desired characters, which are often arranged in a non-alphabetic order and amongst a great number of keys.
Another type of keyboard entry is encountered on telephones that are used to access remote systems, called automated response systems. Generally, these automated response systems will recognize alphabet characters associated with a key depressed on a remotely located telephone keypad. One such system, for instance, is employed by the U.S. Supreme Court, wherein users simply dial the Supreme Court phone number in order to locate the docket number or status of a pending case. The user may call into the system from any conventional remote phone location. Once the Supreme Court automated response system is accessed, the user is prompted by voice message to specify the name of the case by depressing keys on the remote telephone keypad. Pursuant to current instructions, the user then proceeds to enter up to ten alphabetic characters of the name of one of the parties to the case on the keypad of the remote telephone. The conventional telephone keypad consists of twelve keys, 0-9, *, and #. Multiple letters are associated with each of numerical keys 2-9, so that all 26 letters are accounted for except for Q and Z, which the system specifies as being assigned to numerical key 1. The user then depresses ten numerical keys corresponding to the name of one of the parties. Or, the user may enter less than ten digits followed by the * key or a four-second delay. Once the party name has been entered, the system then searches the clerk's office docket and provides a voice indication of the three closest cases that have been located by case number, parties, and status. If the user is not satisfied with any of those cases, the user may speak with a docket clerk.
The automated response system described above is designed to accommodate conventional telephone keypads, with limited words in memory and are not implemented in a word processing environment. Consequently, the system is extremely slow and not readily adaptable for use as a speed typing arrangement. Moreover, the system is limited to use with voice communication systems and with telephone keypads. Consequently, the automated response systems do not provide for editing memory, defining preferred terms, or defining new word variations. In addition, the telephone keypads are not designed for typing, much less speed typing.